Wärtsilä upgrades LNGPac
Wärtsilä upgrades LNGPac
Wärtsilä received approval in principle (AIP) from DNV GL for an upgraded version of its LNGPac LNG fuel handling system. With the new design the heating media skid and its pumps have been removed while the Wärtsilä cold recovery technology has been modified. The AIP certificate clears the way for full class approval in actual projects.
The first LNGPac system was installed on board the product tanker Bit Viking, the first conversion of a vessel in service to an LNG-fuelled configuration. That project was carried out in 2011. With this original system the heating media skid, comprising a complete circuit of heat exchangers, pumps and piping, was used to evaporate LNG for pressurising the storage tank and to provide the engine with gas at the correct temperature.
With the upgraded LNGPac, the engine’s cooling water is used directly as the heating medium, instead of the heating media skid. This solution results in fewer interfaces and less installation work for the shipyard and also reduces power consumption. Additional innovations in the new LNGPac include an integrated airlock and control cabinet, a more compact bunkering station, an enclosed or integrated gas valve unit and maximised LNG storage volume. Several of the features have been patented by Wärtsilä.
The engine maker has also launched a modified version of its SK 5054 chemical/product tanker design, which includes an LNG-fuelled option complete with the new LNGPac technology. The company points out that its SK 5054 MkII tanker design package offers a 12 per cent increase in energy efficiency over the original design. Besides the Wärtsilä LNG fuel technology, other notable features of the SK 5054 MkII design include lower operational costs, an efficient cargo handling arrangement with minimised ballast capacity and an emphasis on ease of maintenance.
Skangass cleared for Gävle terminal
The Swedish government has granted Skangass permission to build and operate an LNG receiving terminal at Gävle on the country’s east coast about 200km north of Stockholm. Skangass plans to make a final investment decision on the project in spring 2015 and immediately thereafter commence construction work on the facility. The Gävle terminal will feature a 30,000m3 storage tank and be able to handle up to 500,000 tonnes per annum of LNG.
Skangass points out that the new facility represents an important extension of the small-scale LNG infrastructure in both Sweden and the overall Baltic Sea area. Skangass will develop the terminal in co-operation with the Port of Gävle. The facility will be supplied by coastal LNG carriers chartered by Skangass and will have the ability to distribute product both as LNG in road tankers at the jetty and in regasified form via pipeline to local customers.
Conrad, Bristol focus on 3,000m3 LNG barge
Conrad Shipyard and Bristol Harbor Group in the US have embarked on a project to design a non-propelled LNG barge with a capacity of 3,000m3. The vessel will have four Type C cargo tanks whose pressure rating will provide holding times sufficient to obviate the need for a reliquefaction plant.
The vessel’s basic design, which has been developed by Bristol Harbor, a Rhode Island-based consultancy, has already received approval in principle from ABS. Conrad Shipyard, of Morgan City, Louisiana, reports that vessels built to this design would be used for coastal distribution operations.
Mitsubishi auxiliary gensets for Ostfriesland
DNV GL has awarded first-stage approval for a pair of marine gas generator sets that Mitsubishi Turbocharger and Engine Europe BV (MTEE) is supplying for use with the EMS ferry Ostfriesland. The vessel is being converted to dual-fuel running at the BVT shipyard in Bremen and is due to commence operations as an LNG-powered vessel later this year. Ostfriesland is one of several ferries that EMS employs to link the ports of Emden and Eemshaven in northern Germany with the North Sea island of Borkum.
MTEE is supplying two of its GS6R2-MRTK LNG-fuelled auxiliary gensets for the vessel through its long-term Dutch partner Koedood Dieselservice BV. Each of the six-cylinder units has a 394kW power rating. MTEE points out that the genset performance is achieved through the application of the Miller cycle to the engine in tandem with high-efficiency turbochargers and efficient control technology for marine gas engines.
The primary propulsion units on the converted Ostfriesland will be a pair of 6L20DF dual-fuel engines supplied by Wärtsilä. The latter company will also provide its LNGPac fuelling system for the vessel. The ferry conversion has been facilitated through the construction of a new 15.3m aft end section as a replacement for the old stern.
GTT wins approval for LNG bunker arm
Gaztransport & Technigaz received approval in principle (AIP) from Bureau Veritas for its REACH4 bunker mast design. REACH4, short for refuelling equipment arm, methane (CH4), is designed for mounting on the LNG bunker vessel deck to assist with the safe transfer of the fuel to a client vessel by means of cryogenic hoses.
Developed by GTT engineers, this new system supports the transfer hoses and is fitted with breakaway couplings to enable safe and reliable emergency disconnections. A patented configuration prevents rapid disconnections and keeps the breakaway couplings in a fixed position on the mast. GTT is currently in discussions with numerous partners, including both equipment manufacturers and end users, to ensure that the final design is adapted to the needs of the market as a whole.
LR gas-fuelled readiness notation
Lloyd’s Register has fine-tuned the notation it allocates to those ships it classes that, while not gas-fuelled as such, have been designed and built in readiness for burning gas at some stage in the future. The general ‘GR’ notation covers those ships other than LNG carriers which have been made ready for burning gas in their propulsion systems.
The degree of readiness is indicated by the characters below, which are used in tandem with the GR notation.
• A – approval in principle achieved for the basic design
• S – necessary structural reinforcement and materials have been installed
• T – gas bunker tank(s) in place
• P – gas fuel piping arrangements have been installed
• E – additional engineering systems are also gas-fuelled (M – main engines; A – auxiliary engines; B – boiler; I – incinerator)
Study on box ship with membrane bunker tanks
Hanjin Heavy Industries, Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT) and DNV GL have agreed to jointly investigate and develop a design concept for a large, LNG-fuelled container ship equipped with membrane fuel tanks. The joint development project (JDP) partners are focusing on a 16,300 TEU box ship sailing between Asia and Europe.
The vessel under consideration would be equipped with a dual-fuel, two-stroke engine and two membrane LNG fuel tanks totalling 11,000m3 in capacity, or enough to provide a sailing range of 15,000 nautical miles (28,000km). Hanjin is designing the key components of the LNG supply system, while GTT is responsible for the integration of the fuel containment system and DNV GL will assess the safety performance of both the gas supply and tank integration systems. Also, on successful completion of the project, the class society will award the design an approval in principle (AIP).
In addition to its design review and hazard identification work DNV GL will also evaluate the economic feasibility of the project using its LNG Ready Step 1 procedure. The approach includes an evaluation of the LNG tank location and the vessel’s range in gas mode. Factors taken into account include the ship’s operational profile, an outline of the necessary requirements for an LNG-ready or LNG-fuelled design and an overview of LNG availability in relevant locations.
LNG America develops Gemini bunker barge
LNG America has taken the development of its Gemini-class LNG bunker barge concept to the next stage by selecting Taylor-Wharton to commence the front-end engineering and design (FEED) work for the cryogenic topsides equipment required for the 3,000m3 vessel. LNG America is hoping to have the first non-propelled Gemini bunker barge built and in service by the end of 2015.
The barges are designed to deliver LNG either to customer premises, LNG America’s own marine terminals or direct to the ship to be bunkered by means of ship-to-ship (STS) transfers. Jensen Maritime is the naval architect for the Gemini project while the vessels will be classed with ABS.
LNG bunkering for Tacoma
The Port of Tacoma in the US state of Washington has approved a 25-year lease on a parcel of land that enables Puget Sound Energy (PSE) to proceed with a plan to build a US$275 million shoreside LNG liquefaction plant and fuelling terminal. The intention is to utilise the facility, which would be located on the Hylebos Waterway in the port, both for peakshaving purposes and as a station providing LNG for use as a transport fuel.
PSE plans to provide a 30,000m3 storage tank, road loading bays and jettyside loading arms at the 33-acre (13-hectare) terminal to facilitate the local distribution of LNG for use as fuel in road, rail and marine transport operations. The facility’s largest initial customer will be Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE), which is converting Midnight Sun and North Star, two of its roro container ships, through the installation of dual-fuel propulsion systems.
The PSE site is adjacent to the TOTE berth, which is the southern terminus for the ships on their weekly run between Tacoma and Anchorage in Alaska. The plan is to build a short, insulated pipeline from the LNG storage tank to the nearby TOTE berth for vessel fuelling purposes. Subject to achievement of all the necessary approvals, a 2018 start for the PSE terminal is envisaged.
Bunker terminal for Hirtshals
Fjord Line has contracted Liquiline Europe to design, construct and commission an LNG ship bunkering terminal in the Danish port of Hirtshals. The facility will be the first LNG ship bunkering terminal in Denmark and will be used to provide fuel for Fjord Line’s LNG-powered passenger/car ferries Stavangerfjord and Bergensfjord. One or the other of the two ships calls at Hirtshals every day.
Liquiline will supply one of its LiquiStation Bulk installations of the ST2FF type for the project. The arrangement features an onsite storage tank of 500m3 in capacity and will be able to handle LNG bunker transfers at rates of up to 400 m3/hour. This will enable Fjord Line to fuel its cruise ferries within the two-hour window when they are docked in the port. The LNG ship bunkering terminal is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Bulk carrier breakthrough for dual fuel
JT Cement contracted Wärtsilä to supply a 6-cylinder 34DF main engine for a 5,800 dwt bulk carrier it has on order at Scheepswerf Ferus Smit yard in the Netherlands. The vessel will be the first bulk carrier for which the engine manufacturer has supplied its dual-fuel propulsion system technology. Wärtsilä will also supply an enclosed gas valve unit (GVU) for easier installation and additional engineroom safety.
The cement carrier is scheduled for delivery in late 2015 and Ferus Smit holds options from JT Cement on two further such vessels. JT Cement is a joint venture between Erik Thun AB of Sweden and KG Jebsen Cement of Norway.
Argos to build combined bunker barge
Rotterdam-based Argos Bunkering reports that it plans to have a combined LNG/diesel oil bunker barge built and ready for pilot operations by the third quarter of 2015. The 110m vessel will offer space for 1,870m3 of LNG and 1,400m3 of tankage for diesel oil. The LNG tank will be constructed to the Gaz Transport & Technigaz (GTT) Mark III membrane design.
The new vessel will be powered by LNG boil-off, the gas being directed to the three spark-ignition, 400kW TCG 2016 V08 C gensets that Mannheim, Germany-based MWM will supply. Cryonorm is providing the LNG cargo-handling and fuel supply systems while Lloyd’s Register will class the bunker vessel.
Argos states that the LNG will be sourced from the new breakbulk facility being built at the Gate import terminal in Rotterdam. The bunker vessel project is being co-financed by the European Union under the LNG Masterplan for the Rhine-Main-Danube waterway network.
Coral Star marks another Veder first
The Anthony Veder Group has taken delivery of its first LNG-powered gas carrier that is not also able to carry LNG as cargo. The 4,700m3 ethylene carrier Coral Star was completed by Avic-Dingheng Shipbuilding in China and its completion was followed in a matter of weeks by the delivery of its sistership Coral Sticho.
Each vessel is powered by a Wärtsilä six-cylinder, inline 34DF main engine, and the engine manufacturer’s package for each vessel also features twin six-cylinder, inline 20DF auxiliaries, a gearbox and a controllable pitch propeller. Cryonorm fabricated a pair of 107m3 LNG fuel tanks for each of the gas carriers and also supplied the fuel gas handling system.
The ships have been chartered by Sabic for use in the transport of ethylene from the chemical company’s Teesside cracker in the UK to destinations in Northern Europe. Anthony Veder expects the range of LNG bunker terminal locations in the region to expand in the years ahead.LNG
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